In computer systems, and particularly in e-commerce environments, it is typical that messages are sent to recipients using different potential sending services. For example messages may be sent by email, fax or other electronic gateways available to a sending system. Typically a system sending a message to a recipient has available to it the message to be sent, the recipient name, the sending service to be used and the address for the recipient to be utilized by the sending service. Thus where a sending system is forwarding a fax the recipients name and fax name will be used and a fax service called by the sending system to have the message sent to the recipient.
It is also known to interpose a messaging system between a sending system and the sending services. Such a messaging system will potentially automate the management of messages being sent using sending services.
With such systems, there is a potentially significant overhead for the sending system in maintaining information concerning the address of the recipient and the preferred method of receiving messages from the sending service. Similarly there is a potentially costly overhead involved in the sending system supporting new communication methods. For example where a secure electronic communications link is added to a system the sending system will require modification to support such a communication service.
It is therefore desirable to have a messaging system that is able to permit messages to be sent without the sender process specifying the service to be used for the message. It is also desirable to have a messaging system to permit new services to be added without requiring modifications to the sender process.